Welcome to the FRD Center business blog. The FRD Center website is www.frdcenter.ro Email: europa@frdcenter.ro Tel: +4021 4111459 .... Are you looking for market expansion to Eastern Europe? To acquire a local player, to export, relocate, invest in emerging markets in Europe such as Romania, Poland etc.? What do you know about these markets? Are you looking for qualified local importer-distributors? Are you looking to consolidate your presence in the market, to manufacture and/or increase sales?

Wednesday, 20 August 2014

First half of 2014 in Romania - business development, internal consumption growth and foreign investment continue

The Romanian mergers and acquisitions (M&A) market has
started recovering in the first half of the year, with 21 significant
operations but of small to medium value, in sectors such as financial services,
food industry and technology, according to EY (Ernst &Young) Romania,
citing Mergermarket.com data.

According to GfK,
Romania's
consumer technology goods market grew by an annual 12.5% to 805 million
euro ($1.1 billion) in the first half of 2014, with the ascending trend
expected to continue.

According to the Agriculture Minister, Romania has
harvested a record rape crop this year, of roughly 1.1 million tons, despite
poor weather conditions in the second quarter. The 1 million ton rapeseed
harvest, the highest in Romania’s
history, will generate EUR300 million revenue in the next few months when
farmers sell it to processors and traders.

Romanian industrial new orders rose 6.6% on the year in the
first six months, supported by growth in all sectors, data from the country’s
statistics institute INS shows. The adjusted industrial production rose 10.4%
in the first half from the year-ago period, fuelled by higher output in the
manufacturing sector. The industrial sales rose 10.8% in the first six months
compared with the same period of 2013, boosted by higher demand in all sectors.

Romanian personal care and home care goods producer Farmec
Cluj-Napoca increased its sales by 6% in the first six months of this year, to
EUR 17.1 million. The company launched new products and added to its existing
product lines. It has EUR 2.4 million investments planned for this year, most
of them in new technological lines.

According to Nielsen, Romanian consumers’ confidence rose in
April-June for the third consecutive quarter, nearing the European average, as Romania ranks
18th of 32 countries by consumer confidence index, which measures the
perceptions of local job prospects, personal finances and immediate spending
intentions.

Sales of durable goods increased by 17% in Romania in the
second quarter, reaching the value of EUR 420 million, according to a GfK
study. According to the study, all categories registered increases in the
second quarter of 2014, except for the photo sector. The largest increase in
value, of 29%, was generated by the telecom sector, which reached EUR 128
million. GfK expects the upward trend to continue this year.

Sales of new cars and commercial vehicles on the Romanian
market totaled 57,019 units in the first seven months of 2014, 31% more than in
the same period of 2013. For the passenger cars segment, the growth was 32.7%,
to 47,857 units.

The financial leasing market ended the first half of 2014
with new financings worth EUR 664 million, up 22% year-on-year, according to
data from ALB Romania.

Foreign capital inflows via capital increases in Romanian
companies totaled more than EUR 1.5 billion in the first six months of this
year, according to data from Romania’s
Trade Registry’s Office

Romanian adjusted retail sales rose 8.2% in the first six months compared with the same period of 2013, on higher sales in all sectors, according to the statistics institute INS.

Sources: ZF, Romania Insider

For tailored market data on Romania and other markets in Eastern Europe, do not hesitate to contact out team at europa@frdcenter.ro or +4021 4111459

What Clients say about us

Fred van der Meer, Ministry of Economic Affairs, The Netherlands The FRD Center organized for my group of 16 companies, custom-made business meetings, all resulting in potential future business.

Rob Costongs, Marketing Manager at C&H Maastricht (The Nederlands)Jackie and her team at FRD organised the matchmaking during the trade mission of the Dutch government in Romania. We from C&H Maastricht were very satisfied with the number and quality of the companies that FRD had researched for us and met us during the trade mission.

Ender Bozkurt, Board Member @ Novatemed Innoceuticals A.S. & Private Investment Advisor (Turkey) The FRD Center team are very knowledgeable and experienced. They run a very well structured execution plan for the service they provide. Even though we were behind the schedule when consulted them, they put things together in a short time without any flaw and they followed-up until completion of the project. I would recommend FRD Center for your market entry endeavours and I ensure you that you will get results thanks to their professional manner and the high degree of quality service they provide.Yoav Rottenberg, Business Manager - Europe at Naton Medical Group (China)"Jackie and FRD Center helped our company with our business development in Romania. They provided us with valuable information regarding the key players in the market and were very successful in locating potential customers for us and arranging the meetings. They did all this in a very short period of time and for a very reasonable price. I highly recommend.”

Top qualities: Great Results, Good Value, On Time

David Butler, Country Manager, Hungary & Romania, Enterprise Ireland (Ireland)“I wish I knew 10 Jackies! Extremely hardworking, professional, resourceful and full of initiative, she's also very thoughtful and lots of fun to work with - I can't recommend her highly enough.”

Marianne Vandenbosch, EMBA Program Manager, IMD Lausanne (Switzerland)"FRD Center worked with the IMD Executive MBA program, helping us to develop and deliver our discovery expedition to Bucharest. Their in depth knowledge of Bucharest and of doing business in Bucharest was very helpful to us. The FRD Center team are very reliable and deliver what is promised. Working with them over a number of years, they were able to offer better service each time. FRD Center teamare very reliable and willing to go the extra mile to make sure everything works out as planned."

Lau Brüniche-Olsen, Business Development Consultant, Confederation of Danish Industry (Denmark)“I can give Jackie Bojor and the FRD Center my best recommendations. I have worked with Jackie and several occasions and have been most satisfied with her work and professionalism.”

Mike Stout, International Franchise Development Director, CKE Restaurants (USA)“Jackie and her team are very knowledgable of the Romanian market. Jackie went beyond expectations in arranging meetings with potential candidates for our franchise concept, including meeting with all candidates and pre-screening. Should we enter the Romanian market, we certainly plan to use Jackie and her team for consumer research and other areas that can benefit a successful launch of our brand."

Jonathan Taylor, Business Development Director, Hanson plc (UK)“I would recommend using Jackie for market entry work in Romania. Her team can produce good, quick results and is very friendly and accommodating.”

Philip Martin, Product Development Manager, Faessler AG (Switzerland)“It was a great pleasure to work together with Jackie and her team. We as a company were looking for a distributor in the Romanian market. Since we're active in a very specific market the task was not easy at all. But the dedication to our project from Jackie and her team was great and they identified our needs clearly and brought us the right results.”

Paul Thompson, International Trade Adviser, Chamber of Commerce Herefordshire & Worcestershire (UK)"I have known Jackie for several years and meet with her whenever I am in Bucharest. I have used the services of FRD Center on several occasions and have also referred companies and can, without question, confirm that any work has always been undertaken in a very friendly and professional manner. I have no doubts about recommending FRD Center".Michel Gagnon, President of Davier Consultants (Canada)“More and more Canadian companies are interested in Eastern Europe and see the potential of the region. We have been able over the last few years to assist our Clients in identifying and securing a relationship with reliable Romanian companies, either as a partner, licensee or franchisee, and all these projects were carried out in cooperation with our exclusive partner for the area, FRD Center"